Liechtenstein citizens still do not want to elect their own government
Published: Sunday, Feb 25th 2024, 14:01
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Liechtenstein citizens want to continue to leave the election of their national government to parliament. The initiative for a popular election of the government was clearly rejected by the electorate on Sunday.
The popular initiative "Involving the people in appointing the government" received 4380 votes at the ballot box, with 9309 against, according to the Liechtenstein government's website. This corresponds to a "no" vote of 68 percent. The voter turnout was 66.5 percent.
All 11 municipalities clearly rejected the proposal, some with almost three quarters of the votes. The municipality of Triesen had the most supporters with just under 40%, Schellenberg the least with around 26%.
Direct election of the government
The popular initiative was launched by the small Democrats pro Liechtenstein party. It called for the head of government and the four other members of government to be elected directly by the population instead of by parliament, as is currently the case.
The rights of the Prince in the "constitutional hereditary monarchy on a democratic-parliamentary basis" would not have been affected if it had been accepted. With the right to appoint or reject elected members of government, he would still have had the final say in appointing the government.
Politics, business and the royal family on the other hand
Nevertheless, Hereditary Prince Alois spoke out clearly against the initiative - as did the government, all other parties, the vast majority of parliament and business associations. They described direct elections as a "dangerous experiment with a tried and tested form of government", under which the Principality had become a rich country.
Opponents of the initiative warned of shifts in power in the state structure. A government appointed by the people would be significantly stronger than parliament. At the same time, a directly elected head of government would be stronger than the prince today. This would result in potential for conflict, the impact of which on the political stability of the country could not be predicted.
The initiators had unsuccessfully campaigned for the system change by expanding the democratic rights of the people. Their argument that popular elections would enable the most capable people to be elected to government, beyond party political strategies, did not work.
Maintaining an electoral system that is over 100 years old
The people of Liechtenstein thus decided to retain the electoral system enshrined in the constitution over 100 years ago. Political stability had contributed to Liechtenstein's upswing from an impoverished microstate to an extremely prosperous business location.
Back in 2012, Liechtenstein voters opted for the status quo and against strengthening their democratic rights. A popular initiative that would have abolished the right of the Prince or his deputy to veto ballots was resoundingly rejected.
Just over ten years ago, the people of Switzerland were also concerned about the popular election of the federal government. The SVP had launched an initiative calling for the Federal Council to be elected by the people. The initiative was defeated in the summer of 2013 with a 76.3% "no" vote. The broad opposition - all other parties and the Federal Council - had successfully warned of a possible paralysis of government work in the event of a switch to popular election.
©Keystone/SDA
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